Couture that goes crunch: A model walks on a catwalk covered with live ground beetles during the Loren Chinese Top Model Contest in Nanning, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of China. (Some beetles may have been harmed during the filming.)

The rain in Spain: A dog runs on the beach during a shower in Laredo, northern Spain.

Photo: Alvaro Barrientos, Associated Press

The rain in Spain: A dog runs on the beach during a shower in...

The rain in Spain: A dog runs on the beach during a shower in... Photo-6716891.91540 - SFGate

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A Palestinian woman stands in her gutted home in Gaza City's Shijaiyah
neighborhood as a fragile cease-fire holds between Hamas and Israel.

Photo: Hatem Moussa, Associated Press

A Palestinian woman stands in her gutted home in Gaza City's...

A Palestinian woman stands in her gutted home in Gaza City's... Photo-6712670.91540 - SFGate

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Vanishing Lake Mead: A "bathtub ring" shows how much Arizona's Lake Mead has shrunk during the West's long drought. On the left are the intake towers of Hoover Dam. The water level on the reservoir is at its lowest point since it was first filled in the 1930s.

Jihadists targeted: An F/A-18 fighter jet takes off for Iraq from the flight deck of the carrier USS George H.W. Bush in the Persian Gulf. U.S. military officials said American fighters attacked an Islamic State group convoy moving against Kurdish forces defending the northeastern Iraqi city of Irbil.

Flower child: A painted boy poses for a portrait during Santo Domingo festivities in Managua, Nicaragua. During the fests, Christians coat their bodies with used motor oil or red paint, and dress in traditional costumes to mark a miracle they believe was performed by Managua's patron saint, Santo Domingo de Guzman.

Seafood snack: A northern fur seal catches a tossed treat at the Moscow Zoo. Russia's drastic ban on food imports from Europe has claimed it first victims - the zoo's rather choosy animals. Keepers have been scrambling to adjust the menus for its critters, which rely heavily on Dutch vegetables and Polish apples. The apples are a particular favorite of the bears, a national symbol.

Cheaper than an awning: A Muslim woman has some fun with a rainy themed mural in Shah Alam, Malaysia.

Photo: Lai Seng Sin, Associated Press

Cheaper than an awning: A Muslim woman has some fun with a rainy...

Cheaper than an awning: A Muslim woman has some fun with a rainy... Photo-6721777.91540 - SFGate

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Ritual rewards cruelty: Nepalese men wrestle over a goat during an ancient Hindu festival ritual in Khokana village outside Katmandu. In the ritual, a sacrificial female baby goat is thrown into a pond followed by teams of local men who attempt to kill it. Whichever team is successful supposedly will have a prosperous year ahead.

Saved from the slaughterhouse: A volunteer holds a rescued newborn puppy in suburban Beijing after animal activists intercepted a truck that was transporting hundreds of dogs to be slaughtered and sold for meat. With the help of activists and groups such as Humane Society International, the dogs are now safe and receiving care.

Photo: Humane Society International, Associated Press

Saved from the slaughterhouse: A volunteer holds a rescued newborn...

Saved from the slaughterhouse: A volunteer holds a rescued... Photo-6721866.91540 - SFGate

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The gods must be hungry: A worshipper stands at Mount Bromo's "Sea of Sand" during the Yadnya Kasada Festival in Probolinggo, East Java, Indonesia. Yadnya Kasada, the main festival of the Tenggerese people, requires devotees to journey up Mount Bromo and throw offerings of rice, fruits, vegetables, flowers and livestock into the volcano's caldera as offerings to the mountain gods. The ritual originates from a 15th century legend in which the gods granted a childless couple 25 children on the condition that they sacrifice the 25th in the volcano's crater.

Photo: Ulet Ifansasti, Getty Images

The gods must be hungry: A worshipper stands at Mount Bromo's "Sea...

The gods must be hungry: A worshipper stands at Mount... Photo-6721854.91540 - SFGate